Alworth Takes Blame For Arkansas Loss In '61

Jerry L. Reed

12/24/2007

FAYETTEVILLE — To this day, Lance Alworth still blames himself for Arkansas losing the 1961 Cotton Bowl gam

Alworth, an All-American halfback who doubled as a defensive back, said it was all his fault the Razorbacks lost 7-6 against Duke on Jan. 1, 1961 in Dallas.
"It's funny how sometimes the only thing you remember are the bad things," Alworth said. "I remember I cost us that game. That mistake is on me.

"I owe my teammates."

As Alworth explains it, he couldn't make a defensive stop which resulted in Duke eventually winning the game.

"Well, Duke had a lonesome end (Tee Moorman) and we worked on defending him," Alworth said. "If they threw to him, I was supposed to shoot in front of him and intercept the pass.

"I remember right after we scored, they got into that formation. They threw it to the lonesome end, it went through my arms and he picked up 10 or 15 yards.

"That was pretty much it."

Duke would score it's only touchdown on a 73-yard drive in the fourth quarter. During that drive, Blue Devils quarterback Don Altman hit Moorman with five short passes, the final being a 9-yard TD pass.

Art Browning tacked on the PAT to give Duke the victory.

Alworth had 74 yards of random offense — 33 rushing, 41 receiving — and returned two kickoffs for 50 yards. He also accounted for the only Arkansas score. His 49-yard punt return in the third quarter were all the points the Razorbacks could muster.

After Alworth's TD, Mickey Cissel's PAT attempt was blocked.

Alworth, who named the outstanding back of the game, put Arkansas in a possession to grab the lead near the end of the first half. He grabbed a George McKinney pass and advanced to the Duke 13.

The threat, however, was stalled by a penalty, and on the next play, McKinney was intercepted in the end zone.

As a footnote, it was the silver anniversary of the Cotton Bowl and the first Cotton Bowl for Arkansas coach Frank Broyles.